U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer during a press conference on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, USA on October 15, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that China is using its advantages in the rare earths industry to drive down prices and drive out foreign competitors. He characterized the country as a “non-market economy.”
In response, the Trump administration plans to “activate industrial policy” and set price floors in various industries. A price floor is a lower limit that a supplier can charge for a good or service. These are usually set above market rates and are essentially a form of government price control.
meanwhile, bank of america and morgan stanley reported massive second-quarter results that far exceeded analysts’ expectations. These banks join other large U.S. banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Co., which had a turbulent quarter with strong deal closings and high stock market prices.
And even as President Donald Trump continues to take a tough stance on China on trade, traders don’t seem ready to let go of stocks. Wednesday in the U.S. S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite roses and russell 2000 A new record was set. After all, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book says earnings reports show the economy is not yet in a downturn, even though businesses are already seeing higher costs from tariffs.
Whether traders continue to push stocks to new highs will depend in part on next week’s results from major technology companies such as Tesla and Intel, as trade relations with China become volatile.
What you need to know today
And finally…
On March 18, 2025, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE National Security Adviser, met with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
By: Donald J. Trump | via Truth Social
Abu Dhabi investor funds AI while trying to save TikTok with support from Trump
MGX, founded in March 2024 with the backing of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, has emerged as a key source of capital as companies race to build the vast computing power needed to meet anticipated AI demands.
Certain deals suggest some degree of cordiality with President Trump.
Earlier this year, MGX reportedly provided $2 billion in funding to crypto exchange Binance using cryptocurrencies purchased from the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. The group’s president, Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also visited President Trump at the White House this spring and announced that the organization would invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over the next 10 years.
— Steve Kobach
Description: This article has been updated to reflect gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday. Previous versions did not specify which index increased.
